9 February 2020
Ramaphosa’s brilliant speeches don’t hide his apparent fear of using power he wields
There should be no doubt that President Cyril Ramaphosa and his team will pull out all the stops to ensure he hits all the right notes when he addresses the nation in the week ahead.
His last three state of the nation addresses didn’t disappoint. And, in any case, his predecessor Jacob Zuma set the bar so low that even a modest attempt by Ramaphosa will create a veneer of brilliance. Ramaphosa has proven to be adept at coining a beautiful turn of phrase if he’s not borrowing beautiful quotes from musicians (Hugh Masekela – Thuma Mina; Khawuleza) or authors like Ben Okri.
Where former president Thabo Mbeki relied on his extensive knowledge of English literature, Ramaphosa appears on a creative yet circuitous Afro-literature sojourn. While the leitmotif to former president Jacob Zuma appeared firmly ensconced in song (Mshini wam; Inde le ndlela), Ramaphosa seems comfortable quoting thought leaders and, in this way, has further endeared himself to the urban literati. This, along with his seemingly effortless charm, will have many of us eating out of his palm – armed with the latest leitmotif to replace Khawuleza and Thuma Mina.
But in the end, it is not the cute turn of phrases that will save the South African economy from imploding and, with it, a premature ejection of Ramaphosa from the seat of power in Tshwane. What seems our greatest affliction to our political firmament is a paralysis of leadership that manifests in the form of leaders’ irrational fear of exercising power.
Our public sphere is replete with examples of leaders who behave as if they are victims of processes they are supposed to lead, control and direct accordingly. With monotonous regularity, leaders appear on television or in newspapers claiming victimhood, suggesting some force or other is up to malfeasance. Political immaturity. But simply childish, if you ask me.
Take ANC head of presidency Sibongile Besani resigning in a huff from the ANC Youth League task team because it issued a statement condemning the courts for issuing an arrest warrant for Zuma. The truth is Besani is the co-ordinator of this task team. He is the de facto secretary-general of the youth league. Imagine Ace Magashule resigning because Pule Mabe has issued a statement he disagrees with. Think about that. What happened to disciplining the culprits? Why not start with suspending them? Resigning doesn’t make you a hero who doesn’t want to associate with factions – it makes you weak, a coward afraid of using the power that is legitimately in your hand to lead – this being the operative word.
Let’s park poor Besani. Take Ramaphosa announcing in Addis Ababa that government disagrees with the business rescue practitioner who, like a wrecking ball, have been closing almost all SAA routes without a care how workers will be affected. SAA operating one route to Cape Town is as good as shut down. Yes, cut unprofitable routes to Mthatha, Polokwane and other dorpies. But no trip to Durban? Anyway.
The thing is Ramaphosa can’t be crying foul like the rest of us on decisions of someone his administration has appointed for a purpose. He ought rightly to be invested in that process to ensure it helps him and his administration to structure SAA, an entity of a government he leads, in the way he wants it structured. It is his process. He can’t conceivably be a victim of that process. Why is he afraid to use his powers?
Again, statements earlier this week by Zuma loyalist Supra Mahumapelo that the ANC will not be voting with the DA on a parliamentary process Ramaphosa’s administration has been invested in to ensure the removal of the public protector are a deliberate jab at a leader Mahumapelo knows is afraid to use power. Mahumapelo knows the worst that will happen is that Mabe will issue a benign statement and say that deployees of the ANC must respect democratic centralism and wara, wara, wara! In the end, there will be no consequences.
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni will publicly contradict ANC national conference regulations on ownership of the Reserve Bank without losing sleep on whether or not there will be consequences. Same pattern. Gwede Mantashe will publicly confirm he is a liar – what will CR do? What has he done?
Apart from Fikile Mbalula’s issues with the police over Bozwana, he can just dissolve the Prasa board for not appointing his recommended candidate as CEO and then appoint him administrator without shame or consequences. What will hapless CR do?
It gets better. In May, ANC leaders will go to the Pietermaritzburg High Court and, after Zuma’s appearance, stage a rally wearing ANC T-shirts despite a decision by Ramaphosa’s national executive committee that no leader should use party regalia at court appearances. Guess what consequences there will be? Yes, nothing, nada, zero.
It’s no science that the centre is not holding. Our president can go to parliament and make nice-sounding noises that our juniorised newsrooms will regurgitate but, in the end, Ramaphosa will be like a fear-struck villager unsure how to wield power. His fear of power is irrational. The ANC cries out for a firm leader. Ditto government.
When David Mabuza said Eskom misled Ramaphosa, made a fool of him, he was being firm on behalf of a villager struck by the city lights, unsure how to lead, how to be firm, how to be a worthy successor to Mandela. CR must just stop giving us songs and quotes. And nice speeches. And start leading! Phakama Ramaphosa. We want you to succeed.
